Can Therapy Really Help Me?

Why People Ask “Can Therapy Really Help Me?”

Can therapy really help me? Therapy is one of those things that people fear but seem to have little to no reason to support that fear. On one end, people generally think they will be deemed crazy and are afraid to tell anyone else what their true thoughts and emotions are. On the other, people often think that talking to someone else could never really help them solve their problems.

Knowing that most people fall into one category or the other, let’s take a moment to de-bunk some of these common misconceptions.

Only in extreme cases will someone need help beyond what a professionally trained therapist can give, outside of medical care. And if you really are facing some crazy challenges, seeing someone with a license to help you really can’t be that bad of an idea.

We learn from a young age, “don’t talk to strangers,” but in this case the stranger, or therapist, is probably the safest person to talk to. Therapists spend anywhere from 3- 8 years on average studying human behavior and relationships, have thousands of hours of clinical training interacting with people from all walks of life, and are in their field to serve us.

What a Therapist Does (and Doesn’t Do)

With any situation or relationship, there are multiple sides to every story or experience. Getting guidance from a non-biased person is possibly the most objective view you could obtain. A therapist is there to actually listen to you and help you figure out solutions to problems you have, not engage in conversation and tell you stories of their own life for you to try to relate and learn from like a friend or family member.

Therapists can help with those thoughts that you don’t want most people to know you have. They can offer insight and help discover the meaning and influences behind thoughts and behaviors that you tend to push down deep inside and can’t seem to get rid of.

There are tons of questions we have about ourselves, others, and about certain situations, but most of the time we are afraid to ask anyone about them… this one time…, is it normal when I…, is it safe that I…, what could this mean if my partner responds by…? A therapist can help with all of these questions and more. Would you rather continue to wonder about these things or get answers that can help you make meaning in your life and aid in making decisions on the overall direction of your future?

When It Might Be Time to Start Therapy

If you find yourself asking questions that start like any of the above, now is the time to get to a therapist. Research shows that individuals and couples that seek help from a therapist earlier when they sense that something isn’t going right have better outcomes than those that wait until things become more problematic. Preventing these issues from becoming ingrained habits and poor patterns of behavior and communication is much easier to work with than intervening after they have a strong hold in relationships.

So, the answer is yes—therapy can really help. Therapy can support meaningful change by helping you understand patterns, get perspective, and build skills you can use in real life. Many people find it’s easier to make progress when they seek support earlier rather than waiting until things feel unmanageable.